A Spanish football referee has become an unexpected internet sensation after attempting to perform a routine pitch inspection on a field that looked more like a swimming pool than a football stadium. The official walked into ankle-deep water and dropped a ball to see whether it would bounce, only to watch it float helplessly on the surface.
The bizarre incident occurred on October 18, ahead of a Spanish fourth-division match between Peña Deportiva and UCAM Murcia at the Municipal de Santa Eulària stadium in Ibiza. Torrential rainfall caused by Storm Adam had left the pitch completely submerged, making normal football virtually impossible. Nevertheless, referee José Manuel López Rodríguez decided to carry out the traditional ball-bounce test before the fixture was postponed.
A Pitch Inspection Nobody Will Forget
In the footage, the referee can be seen standing in the middle of the flooded pitch, surrounded by enormous puddles. He drops the ball onto the surface, apparently hoping to determine whether the ground is playable, but instead of bouncing, it simply floats away. The scene was made even more amusing by the fact that the water was already covering the official's boots.
Peña Deportiva shared the video on social media with a playful question: "Referee, are we playing or not?" The clip quickly went viral, with football fans joking that the two teams might have been better off playing water polo instead.
Behind the comedy, however, the weather conditions were genuinely serious. Heavy rain caused widespread flooding across Ibiza and Formentera, forcing local authorities to suspend outdoor sporting activities and disrupting roads and other infrastructure. The football match was therefore postponed, with the condition of the pitch leaving organisers little choice.
Even the Rescheduled Match Caused Problems
The original fixture was scheduled for Sunday morning, but officials initially moved it to Monday, October 19, hoping that conditions would improve. That plan produced further confusion when UCAM Murcia's delegation reported arriving at the stadium to find the facilities closed and no match officials or representatives of the opposition present.
The visitors publicly complained about the lack of coordination after remaining on the island overnight specifically to play the rearranged fixture. Local reports subsequently announced a revised Monday kick-off time of 5:45 p.m., adding another chapter to an already unusual weekend for both clubs.
For all the scheduling problems and bad weather, the most memorable image will probably remain the referee dropping a football into what was effectively a small lake. His inspection may not have revealed anything that wasn't already obvious, but it certainly gave football fans one of the funniest viral clips of the week.
Published by Patrick Jane
20.10.2026